How to Thrive in a Shifting Market with a Three-Part Marketing Plan - Part 2
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When it comes to your marketing, it's so important that you find a system that works for you and for your business - especially in today's market. The last thing you want is to bounce from one idea to the next or waste your time on efforts that don't work. So, in today's episode, we're continuing our conversation on How to Thrive in a Shifting Market with a 3-Part Marketing Plan.
Now, this episode is full of energy and is completely real as it's from a live training. So, I hope you enjoy the next two marketing strategies you should implement and how to take action in your business.
Part 2: Conversational Marketing
If you haven't heard of conversational marketing, I will fill you in on it because it is one of my favorite aspects of marketing and one of my favorite strategies. The goal of conversational marketing is to actually further develop relationships. So we know how essential relationships are in real estate because relationships lead to business. Repeat, referral, and new customers all start with relationships, and we can do that with conversational strategies.
I like to call it 'strategically and authentically chatting.' So we are being ourselves when talking, but we're doing it strategically, and it's not selling. So this is another thing that people really like when it comes to marketing. Because if you're somebody who maybe doesn't like pushy sales tactics, this is something you might find will vibe with you a little bit better.
And why we want it in today's market is of course, repeat and referral business - we are always looking for that. But I want you to be there if people are thinking about real estate - if they have a need or they know somebody else who has a need, you are there for them in a shifting market and whatever kind of market we have.
And my favorite thing I always say because it is true, is that conversations lead to closings. Think about the real estate process. Think about a real estate transaction. This is not something that happens because you're scrolling at home late at night and you buy something that pops up on an Instagram ad. It's a lot bigger than that. So conversations lead to closings.
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Conversational Marketing through Email
Let's start with the conversations when it comes to our marketing. And one easy place to do this that is actually a forgotten opportunity is email marketing.
When was the last time you thought about email marketing? People are often surprised to hear that email marketing still works. Now, I have looked at email marketing statistics so many times as a professional marketer - I've been in real estate, about nine years now I've been a professional marketer even longer - so I've been looking at these stats for a long time. But these new seriously surprised me:
77% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.
How many times have you heard recently that marketing of any kind has gotten better engagement? It's definitely more challenging to get people engaged with you on social than it used to be, and it's more challenging to get views on your YouTube videos than it used to be. So to say that email marketers have seen an increase in engagement by 77%. That is huge. And that is power that you have.
99% of email users check their inbox every day, with some checking it 20 times a day.
So we think about marketing, we want to be where our customers are, and they are on email. You as an agent are probably on email quite a lot during the day checking in to see what's going on. If you work at maybe an office job, you might have your email open, literally all day on your desktop computer. So it's a place where you can directly connect with somebody. It's not a place like say social or YouTube or their tiktok where there's so much other stuff going on. It's a place where you can reach out and actually get in front of somebody.
And interestingly enough, 74% of boomers think that email is the most personal channel 72% of Gen X, 64% of millennials, and 60% of Gen Zers still think that email marketing is the most personal channel.
So out of all the different options that you have out there, people think email marketing is the most personal. So I want you to ask yourself, have you been tapping into the power of email? Because I bet the answer is no.
And here is another thing - most other agents aren't either. So if you're missing out on this valuable form of marketing, email is a place that you should be looking right now. And here are the mistakes that other agents are making.
The Content & Strategy of Your Email Marketing
And I think the issue of why people don't like email is because people send out boring and irrelevant content. That is what the issue is - it's the content itself.
I remember many years ago when I got into real estate marketing, creating drip email campaigns was so big. And I think people would just send emails for the sake of sending emails. But then that doesn't work well, and then consistency doesn't happen.
Because let's be honest, if you're going to put some time and thought and effort into an email, it's not going to necessarily be a two-minute task. So maybe you do it once, but then you don't do it again, or you don't do it the next time because other things start happening. So that consistency doesn't happen. So the biggest issue is that the strategy is lacking when it comes to email.
Just like any other form of marketing, you need to have a strategy with your email marketing: who you're sending it to, what the content is, and what are those next steps? Remember from lead capture - what are the next steps that I want people to take? How does this email help nurture them down the funnel I have them in? Are they people that I know and I just want to stay connected to until they're ready to talk to me about real estate? Is this a lead or somebody I'm actively working with and I want them to connect with me? That is strategy in your email marketing.
And above all, the biggest issue with email is that they aren't personal and conversational. Nobody likes to feel like they were sent an email drip campaign. How many times have you signed up for something on the internet, whatever it is, and all of a sudden you're subscribed to an email campaign and you're not interested? So those emails aren't personal and conversational. And I'm not saying that things like newsletters won't work, but we want them to be personal and conversational.
I want you to say goodbye to email content that you might have gotten from your brokerage or that came in a CRM that teaches you how to clean your kitchen with vinegar and reminds people that you're in real estate in case you forgot. Forget was overly salesy emails or emails you're sending just for the sake of sending emails.
We want modern emails that engage people at the right time. That is key. And when we are consistent with our marketing consistent with an email newsletter, we are engaging the right people at the right time. And it starts with something that's a little unsexy - and that is database management.
Database Management for your Email Marketing
I have actually sat on the national advisory committees for two of the largest real estate CRMs, so I'm very familiar with real estate CRMs. I've helped a lot of agents over the years get started with and continue to work on their CRMs.
What I find usually is people get their lists together, they upload it into their CRM when they first get started, then then they don't ever do it again. Or maybe they do it once or twice more in the year because people are reminding them.
If you're going to do this and do it right, we want to always be growing that list for you and growing potential opportunities for connections. So start by getting everyone that you know organized in the list. So this would be like an Excel or CSV file with your past customers, your friends, your family, sphere - everybody.
Most systems let you categorize people like past seller or past buyer, but I want you to add an extra column there with notes on exactly how that connection happened, because that's valuable marketing information you can use later. And then make a point to add people regularly. So maybe an action item you can add for yourself right now is to make a monthly task to add people to that list. Did you meet somebody yesterday? Are you working with a new customer this week? Have you met a new vendor that could connect you to other people? Get them in your database.
So I'm actually starting with the database before we're going into the CRM or email provider, and when it comes to tech (and remember, I'm a former chief marketing and tech officer) my biggest tip is to choose a tool that you will actually use.
If you're going to use a tool that has all the bells and whistle and you're going to take advantage everything it offers, by all means do do that. But if you're somebody who gets overwhelmed and you just want it to be easy in and out and be done with it, you don't want to watch a ton of training videos, then choose a tool that works for you.
So since I started The Marketing Suite, I am so happy with MailChimp, and that's what I recommend for people for easy email marketing. It's not a database management system, but it is an email provider email marketing system. And I like it because you can also use it for free, which is huge. So there's no reason why you shouldn't be doing email marketing when you can just sign up for a free account.
Choose your Newsletter Day for your REALTOR® Email Marketing
My next big tip is something I've been doing for many years. I don't know how many email real estate newsletters I've sent out, I would say maybe
1000 ish or more. I know that sounds like a lot, but I've done so many for so many different markets and different people I've worked with - so I have a lot of experience. And one of my best tips is that you should choose what I like to call a newsletter day. And this helps you with consistency.
So you say okay, first Tuesday of the month, the second Thursday, the last Saturday, it doesn't matter what day it is - but that is always your newsletter day. And what that does is it hold you accountable, so you're more likely to do it. When you start emailing regularly at that cadence, then the people who are receiving that content that they're enjoying, they're expecting it, and that's a big part of marketing - creating those expectations.
Do not ever do anything with your marketing just for the sake of doing it. Don't film a video just because you feel like you have to film a video, or create a website just because you think you need to create a website. We always have purpose and reason behind everything we're doing, and it's the same with your email marketing. We want to fill that email with great content.
Because remember that goal is to build relationships - this is conversational marketing. So we want to make sure that we are sending emails that you would want to receive, that you would find interesting, and would make you say: hey, that has some info in there that I like to look at every month.
What to include in your email newsletter:
So to help you along the way, I have three areas that you can focus on in your newsletters - Local Spotlight, For the Home, and Real News (and you put all three of these in one newsletter)! I'll tell you why each one works:
Local Spotlight
There are going to be people that you're going to want to stay connected with that might not have an immediate real estate need. Maybe you sold them a house last month, two years ago, they don't maybe aren't ready to make another purchase or sale. Maybe they can refer people to you or maybe they want to buy or sell from you in five years. So we want to keep them interested, and local community-related content is something that people find interesting. It's very relevant, and it also builds your brand and your local market.
So what's going on in your community? What are the developments? What are some more personal ways that you can share what's going on? In one of The Marketing Suite email templates, we included 'how to explore this area and 24 hours, here are my best tips.' So that's a little bit different than just saying, 'here are the events going on this weekend.'
We can get even more personal and creative and keep it interesting for our readers. And this also encourages conversations, because you can ask questions and say, "Hey, did you know or have you done this? I did this last week. And this is what I thought - have you tried it out?" We're trying to encourage conversation, we're not just speaking to people we're speaking with them.
For the Home
You can also include content I like to call 'for the home.' This is that HGTV inspired content, but it's also very binge-able. This is the type of stuff that you see on social, the pretty decor, home inspiration, home hacks. And why this works is it ties into real estate. Maybe it's an architectural trend, maybe it's a tip to improve the ROI from an upgrade - it ties into real estate without being annoying. You don't have to constantly be screaming in everyone's face that you're in real estate, we can create your brand in a way that's more approachable and makes more of an impact.
Real Estate News
And then finally, real estate news. As we talked about in the beginning, a lot of people have a lot of questions about the real estate market - you're that trusted source of info, not the Google results that we saw last time. So provide information to people whether they are thinking about having a real estate need in the future and are actively preparing, or they're a current homeowner that wants to be more informed - you are that real estate adviser. Or maybe they're a lead and we want to help them and nurture that lead along, get them down the sales funnel to where they're more ready to work with you. Real Estate news content works that way. It just has to be content that people are interested in, and it has to be digestible to them. If you just throw some charts in there that you get from your MLS people are just going to glaze over and they won't be as interested. We need to think about them, speak in their language and be there for the relationship.
Examples of email newsletters for real estate
So here are some examples of email newsletters. This is actually a preview of an email newsletter from The Marketing Suite. And at the top of the newsletter you see it says July in (insert area). So it's timely, it's hyper-local, and the text of the email is very conversational:
This email sounds like it could come from you and might be something that the recipient wants to engage back with. One of my favorite things that happens with email marketing, is when people respond to you or when they tell you: "I've been getting your newsletters and I really enjoyed that!" Or they email you back and ask a question. That's huge!
Another section of that newsletter can be the real estate news section. Like I mentioned earlier, people want to know what is going on. So this says: "Is the real estate market shifting?" This one doesn't have any graphs or anything like that, it's just talking in natural, conversational language. It's addressing people's concerns, and it says: "with rising interest rates, concerns for affordability, and inflation, we're entering a different market than we saw recently. Most real estate economists and experts are not predicting a crash that many people fear, possibly a leveling of the market. Today's conditions are much different than 2008, but what does this mean for you?
Do you see how it's a little bit different? We are recognizing that people are seeing things going on with the economy. They're seeing things with inflation, they're experiencing that themselves. So I think a big mistake agents make when it comes to real estate content, is they just say now's the time to buy or now's the time to sell. If you're constantly saying why it's a good time to buy or sell, even if it is, all people are hearing is sales. We need to be sharing what they're interested in and what their concerns are.
And then it goes on to say: "if you're a seller, here's what it means for you. If you're a buyer, here's what it means for you." So this is longer copy.
We also have a section for your home - remember: binge-able, easy content. So this one features a trending idea, vintage, cool decor inspo. So we are staying on top of it, we're staying relevant.
So why this email works is that it's genuine, but it's also not shy about sparking more conversations and getting people to reach out to you.
Now I don't want you to think that I said in this training, do not ask for business - that is not the case at all. But, we are strategic with how we do that so people don't tune you out.
So this is a PS for the email that says "I hope you enjoyed August's email, and I'll see you next month. P.S. please consider me your trusted real estate adviser, I'm here to answer questions you might have about the market or to discuss your unique needs, I'd be happy to share data that I have access to as a relative as a realtor, and chat about any real estate topics on your mind. Coffee is on me."
So casual coffee is on me and hey, maybe they take you up on that and that could be a potential opportunity for you. It also says 'shared data that I have access to as a realtor.' So very subtly saying, "you're not going to find this information on Zillow." And the template also offers you the opportunity to brand yourself at the bottom.
Email marketing does work to build relationships when you have a strategy behind it. So you know, I took you through the steps, getting your database ready, doing that regularly, having the newsletter day, and then when we go to send out your content, the content is strategic while being conversational and engaging.
Conversational Marketing on Social Media
And lastly, because I have a lot of little ideas and tips for you guys, I don't want you to forget social as a way for conversational marketing - use social to be social. Social media has changed so much we often forget that the primary goal of social was to be social. So conversational marketing happens on social.
And if you want engagement, you want people to comment you want them to reach out to you, then you have to give that same back. So what I would recommend you do - if you are in the carpool line today or tomorrow, you're waiting to pick up your prescription from the pharmacy, you're sitting waiting for your buyer to show up at a showing. I want you to replace five to 10 minutes of mindless scrolling with purposeful conversations. Instead of just liking things. I want you to write thoughtful comments on people's posts. I want you to actually get in there and have conversations - DM them!
A lot of people are going back to school right now. I bet your sphere (people who could be potential buyers or sellers) maybe people in your neighborhood you don't really know yet, you can be having conversations with these people you're connected to. You can send them over a DM and say, "Hey, I see that you're getting ready to go back to school. Looks like you've had a busy summer, how's everything going?" Just start a natural conversation. Be social on social because conversations lead to closings. It's easy. It's low-hanging fruit that you can do right now. It's not going to take any extra training. You don't have to come up with some kind of content. You can do it right now. And it's a way to build relationships.
Part 3: Modern Prospecting
The third part of the three-part strategy is modern prospecting. So prospecting is focusing on actively generating new business. You know, this prospecting is not a new concept. Modern prospecting again, focuses on digital approaches. So how can we be more efficient, more modern, and actually go out there to get business?
I want you to always be implementing some modern prospecting. And it works today because we're doing it digitally and it's more relevant to today's customer. You can also get really creative with it, whether it's Video Marketing or your website, and you can use your time more efficiently. It takes a lot of time to do some of the more traditional real estate marketing avenues, they might work, but they sometimes take more time. Cold calling takes a really long time. Hosting events takes a really long time. Networking takes a long time. You can be more efficient with more modern marketing ideas. And one of the big things is, you are more likely to do it, if you enjoy it. So find what you enjoy doing so that you can be consistent with it.
There's no reason why your marketing has to be this painful, awful experience. Your marketing should be an empowering opportunity. And we want to do it because we don't want to wait for business to come to you. And you can start by getting strategic on social to attract new business - we can do prospecting on social.
I want you to use social strategically. And we start by using sales focused post sparingly, because we don't want people to tune us out. If you're constantly selling, people are going to tune you out. Instead, if they are engaging with you and forming that relationship, when you go to sell, you're going to have better conversions. We also want you to be authentic. Remember, we talked in the beginning about branding, we want you to be authentic, and always come from a place of value. Coming from a place of value with your marketing makes marketing a lot easier, because people are already trusting you, they already know to come to you, they want to work with you, and they are attracted to you like a magnet. You are not convincing them to work with you. And they also have a solid call to action.
When we think about social media content, I want people to look at your content and then know what's next. Maybe what's next is just to encourage conversation - to get that engagement. But maybe it's more strategic. Remember, we're modern prospecting right now - what makes sense here for that post? Is this post a post for somebody who is actively ready to buy and sell or something just interested in what's going on in the market? What is the logical next step for them? What is the most likely thing to happen where you can start having conversations with them, and then further down the sales funnel, they're more interested, they've gotten to know you, and they're ready to start working with you. At that point, then we can have CTAs like "reach out to me," or "schedule a showing," for example, if it's a listing.
So when you're looking at posts, and we're thinking about how can I take this post and generate business, also look at the posts and say "the person who's going to engage with this - where are they at in their real estate journey?" Not every post has to be for everybody. I think that's key advice a lot of people forget. And when you build your trust over time, we can be more strategic when you're asking for business.
So this is an example social media post from The Marketing Suite that says: "Is the real estate market shifting?" It had a much longer caption because we're answering the question is the real estate market shifting, but it ends with - "While it's incredibly important to monitor market trends, it's equally important to have a conversation about your unique circumstances. So DM me, and let's chat about your real estate goals and how I can help get you there in today's market."
So you'll see you're reaching out to them, you're meeting them, where are they are, and not saying "Yep, definitely ssell right now, call me let's set it up. Let's get going." We're being more human with our marketing.
This is another example this would actually refer further on that buyer or seller journey.
This is from a ready-to-share Reel and it says "as your trusted Realtor I'll always lead with honesty and transparency, your real estate goals are my goals..."
And it goes to list more reasons or more things they do as your trusted realtor, which you would do for your customers.
I think this first one is so key right now in today's market, I will always lead with honesty and transparency - you're coming out and saying that not all real estate agents are as great as you. So what are those perceptions that they have?
How do you go above and beyond? How are you leading in the industry?
This is the type of post that will connect with somebody who is more ready to work with an agent sooner.
So mix it up when it comes to your marketing.
Different Avenues for Your Marketing
And you can move beyond social to execute a specific strategy to grow your business. So I talked about social media today, but there are so many different avenues when it comes to modern prospecting.
And I have this saying called "identify and amplify" - we want to identify and amplify a strategy that works for you. So identify means, what's working? Or what do I need to find that works for me? Where can I find success? And then amplify that - how can I do more of it? How can I better that? How can I take that to the next level? So this might be a new strategy for you, this might be something that's worked for you in the past, and you're double down on it, we're identifying amplifying a strategy that works for you.
So some ideas for those strategies could be ads. Maybe you're purchasing ads somewhere, but also included with that strategy will be lead nurturing. If you're doing any kind of ads, and you're working with cold leads, you need to be good with working with leads and nurturing people.
You could also still do website and content marketing. A lot of agents have abandoned websites because marketing and getting people to come to your website was very challenging. But you know what, since a lot of people have abandoned it, it's actually gotten easier for you. And people are still heading to Google to find out information.
You could do strategic video marketing. So last month in The Marketing Suite, I taught a strategy where you identify a specific type of customer, maybe it's a seller in a certain neighborhood, maybe it's a new construction buyer, whoever it is, it's a specific type of customer. And then we attract them in. And I provided a step-by-step type of content that you would share and even a script. So you can do strategic video marketing.
Another idea is target marketing. Now target marketing is huge. And August's training in The Marketing Suite is actually all about target marketing. We'll be going over exactly how to find a profitable target market in today's shifting market, how to market to that target, and how to consistently get business from that.
So definitely pick out a modern prospecting strategy and stick with it. You can continuously do it on social, but I'd also recommend adding something else in there maybe something from this list, or like I said earlier, identify and amplify something that works for you. Because opportunities are out there for you. You just have to take that step to take action on them.
So let's talk about how you do that - implementing your plan, and how we take action on what we discussed today. So we've got personal branding, we talked about conversational marketing, and modern prospecting. What's great about these three components is that no matter what's going on with the real estate market, it's going up, it's going down, it's going sideways, this plan is still going to work for you. Maybe the content changes, maybe a few of the strategies change.
But if we are tying it together with consistency, it will work to get you results. So my big takeaway for you from today's training, is when we think about these three aspects, what are the actions that you can take daily, weekly, and monthly, to work on your personal branding, to work on your conversational relationship marketing and to work on modern prospecting?
Every single day, you should be working on your personal branding, how you show up how you talk to people, how you make people feel how you position yourself online - it's all personal branding. Conversational relationship marketing - maybe you do it daily on social with the technique I taught, you have the five minutes of thoughtful, commenting. But maybe you also do something that takes a little bit more time weekly.
Modern prospecting - that's definitely something that you should be doing and I wouldn't just do once a month. It's something, you need to be doing it more consistently. Modern prospecting on social, you can be doing that quite frequently - not every day because remember we don't want to be annoying with sales. But you could be doing that weekly to generate more business.
You did not tune into this training so that you didn't couldn't get better. You joined it so that you could take advantage of marketing and so that you could position yourself for success. And it starts with doing the work and taking action on just these three things. Even if it's just a little thing, it's better than nothing. And over time, it builds, builds, builds, and it works for you.
So don't wait around to see what happens or fall behind or fall into that comparison trap where you say, "that agent sold so much has such a bigger volume of production, sold so many more deals than me, or that person has so many more Instagram followers than me, or why didn't I start this six months ago or last year". Don't wait around, make the commitment to your business and make it with me now because the market, the market may change. The market is definitely going to change. But you are in absolute control of your marketing.
I hope that you walked away from this episode series and training ready to take action on your own marketing! But know that you don't have to go at it alone! If you're ready to move forward with a marketing strategy that works, then I invite you to level up with The Marketing Suite, my monthly marketing membership.
Inside you'll find daily social media posts and templates in canva, a monthly email newsletter, pro support, and a monthly training and strategy. This month we're focused on target marketing, next month is personal branding, and the topics are always designed to move you forward.
So, head to ideasforrealestate.com/suite to learn more and become a member. Plus, you can use code JOIN25 for 25% off your first month. I can't wait to see you inside where it's even easier and more effective to implement the three-part marketing plan I shared with you in this series.
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Looking for more? Don't miss these top related episodes:
How to Thrive in a Shifting Market with a Three-Part Marketing Plan - Part 1
Realtor Newsletters 101: Engaging Your Sphere & Leads with Email
How to Engage your Realtor Sphere with Social Media Marketing
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It's time for seasonal marketing! Fall-themed real estate content and marketing on social media is not only trending, it also works in your Instagram Reels, posts, carousels, and more. The secret is to customize this content with photos and videos of you. So, in today's episode, let's plan an easy fall content shoot for you as a REALTOR to use in your marketing strategies this season!